Wire-terminal.



E. c. WILCOX. WIRE TERMINAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, I915.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST G. WILGOX, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, PHONE & ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF MERIDEN GONNEGTICUT.

ASSIGNOR 'ro connno'rrcu'r TELE- oonnncrrcu'r, A conrona'rmn or WIRE-TERMINAL.

Specification of Letters Patenti Patented Sept, 19, 1916.

Application filed December 4, 1915. Serial No. 65,031.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST C. WILCOX, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Meriden, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful \Vire-Terminal, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention aims to provide a simple and inexpensive form of terminal which can be readily applied to the end of a wire, and which, when so applied will make positive electrical connection therewith.

Another object is to brace the joint made between the wire end and the terminal to prevent breaking of the wire end, and a still further object is to exclude moisture from the joint thus made.

In the accomplishment of the foregoing objects I employ a terminal of tubular form' which is slipped over the bared end of the insulated conductor and forced beneath the insulation adjoining the bared end of thewire. After being thus engaged with the wire the terminal member is rigidly secured thereto as by soldering or welding the tu-" bular terminal to the bared Wire. Y A special feature of the terminal is theprovision of the same with a cutting edge at the innerend thereof to enable the foreing of the advanced end of the terminal beneath the insulating covering on the wire.

In a preferred form of the invention the exposed portion of the tubular terminal is screw-threaded to engage in a screw-threaded terminal socket. I

In this connection, a special feature of theinvention consists in providing at the mouth of this screw socket, an insulating socket receiving the end of the insulation on the wire and thereby excluding moisture from the joint at-the socket as Well as bracing the joint made between the wire and the tubular terminal thereon.

Various other features and details of structure will become apparent as the specification proceeds, and will be made clear by consideration of the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention embodied in a practical and preferred form.

In this drawing: Figure 1 is a'perspective View of the end of a wire having my terminal applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the wire end bared, and the terminal sleeve ready to be engaged 55 thereover. Fig. 4 is a part sectional view the high tension wires of electrical ignition systems and the same is accordingly illusportion 12.

In the illustration the terminal is detrated in this connection, a high tension cable or conductor of typical construction being illustrated in the drawing, consisting ofa stranded .wire 7 having a relatively heavy waterproof insulating covering 8 of rubber compound or the like.

The terminal consists of ametallic sleeve or tube 10 having at that end which becomes the outer exposedend, the contact maklng portion 11' and having at its opposite or inner end the insulation engaging signed for engagement in a screw-threaded type of socket, and the same is, therefore, shown provided on the outer contact making end thereof with external screw-threads to tube.

cooperate with those of the socket. In the form illustrated, also, theinsulation-engaging inner end 12 is shown smooth, cylindricaland of less diameter than the outer threaded portion so as not to injure the in sulation by the-displacement thereof as the terminal is forced over the wire end.

To facilitate the engagement of the inner end of the terminal beneath the insulation,- the insulation engaging portion of the terminal is preferably provided with an insulation cutting or forcing edge such as that illustrated at 15 and consisting of asharpened or beveled edge provided at the inner most end of the tube.

a After the terminal is engaged. over the bared wire end and forced beneath the adjoining end of the insulating covering as indicated in Fig. 2, the terminal is preferably permanently secured in this position as by soldering or welding the outer end of the tube to the exposed end of the bared wire substantially as indicated at 16. In practice, the wire is preferably bared for a distance substantially equal to the length of the contact making portion of the terminal so as to leavethe end of the wire exposed for securing purposes at the end of the terminal as the inner portion of the terminal tube is forced beneath the insulating covering, the insulating covering closes overthe terminal and forms a close joint therewith excluding moisture and all foreign substances. The soldering or welding of the outer end of the wire to the tubensually closes up the outer end of the tube and thus a waterproof and mechanically and electrically perfect joint is secured be een the terminal sleeve, the wire and the insulating covering.

A p cial advantage of the engagement f thy inner end of the terminal sleeve beneath the insulating covering is that the insulating covering braces the joint between the wire and sleeve and prevents the making of too abrupt a turn which might have a tendency to fracture the wire at this point.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the invention as applied to the end of a cable making connection wi h one electrode 20 of a spark gap for an ignition system. This electrode has a screwhreaded socket 21 receiving the screw-threaded element and the mouth of this socket is surrounded by a socket 22 of insulating material which receives theend portion of insulating covering on the wire. The joint between the wire terminal and the screw-threaded socket is thus in' this case protected against the entrance of moisture by the close fitting engagement of the insulating covering on the wire with the insulator cable,

ing socket 22 at the mouth of the screw socket, and this, it will be noted, in addition to excluding moisture, also serves to further brace the joint between the wire end and the terminal sleeve.

In Fig.5 a portion of the distributer cap of an igniter system is indicated at 25, provided with screw socket terminals 26 receiving the terminals of the distributer cables 27. In this case also an insulating socket 28 is preferably provided at the mouth of the screw socket, receiving and bracing the end of the cable.

What I claim is:

1. A terminal connector for insulated wire or cable, said connector comprising a straight tubular body portion, the inner end of said body portion being relatively smooth whereby the same may be forced between a wire or cable and its insulating covering, the outer end of said straight body portion being threaded.

2. A terminal connector for insulated wire said connector comprising a straight tubular body portion, the inner end, of said body portion being relatively smooth whereby the same may be forced between a wire or cable and its insulating covering, the outer end of said straight body portion being threaded, the extreme inner end being provided with a cutting edge.

' ERNEST C. WILCOX. 

